Herewith the first two paragraphs of the noble Lord’s contribution today on a progressive taxation system.

Paragraph 1: Pretty focused. Gets in an accurate dig at the Lib Dems’ propensity for the written question, especially Lord Dykes, who we have encountered before in this connection.

Paragraph 2: ????

Lord Selsdon: My Lords, I feel a very lonely voice from these Benches or upper yards, lonely but unbowed. I have a great respect for the noble Lord, Lord McNally but, as he is leaving as I am about to pay him a compliment, I shall return to that later. It is a difficult scene. The Liberal Democrat Party is organised like a gang and hunts as a pack. They are well organised and try to sing off the same hymn sheet, but often fail. One thing they do is ask lots of questions but never give any answers. Last year we had 6,300 questions for Written Answers, of which well over 30 per cent were asked by the Liberal Democrat Party. The noble Lord, Lord Dykes, asked the most—more than 300—and cost the most, at something around £32,000. When you ask questions, you have to determine whether you are interested in getting an answer, or are you seeking to promote yourselves?

One thing that I have found in common with others in this debate is a strange word—the word “cable”. When I was an upper yardman before I became an officer, which meant that I was up on the yards, I always wanted to know what the buzz of the lower deck was. That was the cable deck. If there were real problems when you were at anchor, it was in the cable locker. I was sitting in the Peers' Guest Room, looking at the picture of the battle of St Vincent, and then determined that there were actually 33 St Vincents.[1] And then I thought, well, the Liberal Party has one—it is Vince Cable. I would like to see him in this House, as he is a good man who presents himself well and, as the noble Baroness, Lady Valentine, has said, the word “cable” comes with him.[2]

[1] There were nine saints called Vincent. There were four battles of St Vincent, and four ships called the St Vincent. Add in 16 other random things called “St Vincent” and you reach the noble Lord’s total.

[2] Baroness Valentine, of course, said nothing of the sort. She did, however, in her 1,500-word speech, mention the word “cable” once, and that’s good enough.